Christopher Booker is a scholar who wrote that every story falls into one of seven basic plot structures: Overcoming the Monster, Rags to Riches, the Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy, Tragedy, and Rebirth. Shmoop explores which of these structures fits this story like Cinderella’s slipper.
Plot Type : Voyage and Return
Anticipation Stage and "Fall" Into the Other World
The narrator opens this book by explaining how he feels lonely and unsure of himself as the new captain of a ship. He doesn't quite know what he's going to do to get the respect of his men. One night, though, he glances over the side of his boat and sees a naked man swimming in the water. The man is a murderous fugitive (named Leggatt) from a nearby boat, but the narrator feels sympathy for him and takes him aboard. It's pretty clear that making this decision is going to change this dude's life. Otherwise, why would he be telling us this story after so much time has gone by?
Initial Fascination or Dream Stage
Once he gets Leggatt back to his private room, the narrator is happy to have a secret friend to share all of his deepest thoughts and feelings with. But we know that this friendship can't last for very long, because members of the narrator's crew keep coming close to seeing Leggatt.
Frustration Stage
Things get complicated when the skipper and crew of Leggatt's ship come looking for him. They know he has escaped into the ocean and that the narrator's boat is the only place he could have gone if he were to survive. But the narrator is able to convince them that Leggatt isn't on his ship. The skipper and crew leave, but now all of the narrator's men are on guard because they know that a murderer might be around. Leggatt decides that he must abandon the narrator's ship and swim for one of the nearby islands. The narrator is sad, but eventually agrees to help him, because homies always have each other's back.
Nightmare Stage
The only way the narrator can help Leggatt is to sail his ship as closely as possible to some nearby islands in the middle of the night. Doing this with no light is super dangerous and puts the whole crew at risk. Everyone thinks the captain is a psycho, but they still obey him.
Thrilling Escape and Return Stage
At the last possible second, the narrator commands the crew to pull the ship away from the islands. Once they're sailing safely away, he runs and looks over the back of his ship. All he sees in the dark water is his white hat, which he gave to Leggatt to protect him from the sun. Things are back to normal now that Leggatt's gone, but it's clear the captain will never be the same. He misses Leggatt and ends the book hoping that Leggatt was able to make it to shore and have a good life.